1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an agricultural planting method, and particularly to a method of crop production that includes application of first and second herbicides at different times and in different locations during the crop production cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Successful cultivation of cotton requires a relatively long, frost-free period, relatively long exposure to sunshine, and a relatively moderate level of rainfall. Soil for growing cotton typically needs to be relatively heavy, although the level of nutrients in the soil does not need to be exceptional. In general, these conditions are met within the seasonally dry tropics and subtropics in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, although a large proportion of the cotton grown today is cultivated in areas with less rainfall, in which water levels are supplemented through water irrigation.
Conventional cotton production methods may cause ecological damage to the surrounding environment. For example, cotton requires a relatively large quantity of water, and as water resources diminish around the world, economies that rely on limited water supplies face difficulties and conflict, as well as potential environmental problems. Cotton, for example, has led to desertification in areas of Uzbekistan, where it is a major export. During the Soviet era, the Aral Sea was tapped for agricultural irrigation, largely for the production of cotton, and now salination is widespread.
The cotton industry relies heavily on chemicals, such as fertilizers and insecticides, although a very small number of farmers are moving towards an organic model of production, and organic cotton products are now available for purchase at limited locations. These cotton products are popular for baby clothes and diapers, for example. Under most definitions, organic products do not use genetic engineering.
Historically, in North America, one of the most economically destructive pests in cotton production has been the boll weevil. Due to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's highly successful Boll Weevil Eradication Program (BWEP), this pest has been eliminated from cotton in most of the United States. This program, along with the introduction of genetically engineered “Bt cotton” (which contains a bacteria gene that codes for a plant-produced protein that is toxic to a number of pests, such as tobacco budworm, cotton bollworm and pink bollworm), has allowed a reduction in the use of synthetic insecticides.
As noted above, cotton production relies on a relatively large quantity of water for proper growth. In addition to the pests noted above, weeds and other vegetation in the cotton fields and surrounding areas may inhibit cotton production, due to the weeds' siphoning of water from the soil. In addition to insecticides and fertilizers, cotton farmers often use herbicides in order to remove weeds and other vegetation from the cotton fields prior to the planting of the cotton. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many common herbicides used for this purpose. However, glyphosate-resistant weeds, such as glyphosate-resistant horseweed, requires the use of other, non-glyphosate based herbicides.
Typically, cotton farmers use only a single type of herbicide, and this herbicide is applied to the field prior to the planting of cotton seeds therein. Such complete removal of vegetation can not only cause great ecological damage to the general environment, but also removes various helpful benefits provided by the vegetation, such as soil aeration and the addition of nitrogen to the soil. Thus, an agricultural method solving the aforementioned problems is desired.